I am looking for a native groundcover to grow as a walkway along side my house. It is a shady spot and it would need to be a hardy plant that could be walked on.
Regrettably, there are not any native, shade-loving, walkable ground covers available unless you are interested in mosses. If that is appealing, you can check in the book Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by J. Pojar. The following websites may help you find native plants:
King Conservation District
King County Native Plant Guide
Washington Native Plant Society
For information on growing mosses, see the now archived page of “Encouraging Mosses” from Oregon State University, based on the writing of George Schenk.
If your heart isn’t definitely set on natives, there are some good alternatives:
- In her book Big Ideas for Northwest Small Gardens, Marty Wingate recommends Mazus reptans. It is semi-evergreen to evergreen with tiny blue flowers from late spring through summer. It takes full sun to part shade and is delicate looking, but takes foot traffic. It requires some fertilizer to stay perky. (Note: I use it in my garden–it is versatile and pretty)
- Another source of ideas is the website http://stepables.com/
Click on plant info, then plant search. - A ground cover that I have found useful (it can take car traffic a couple times a day) is Leptinella gruveri ‘Miniature.’ You’re almost certain to find it at the website above.